Mark's Story (22 page)

A
ll is under way as you wish,” Mark told Peter the morning of his execution.

“You will be there this afternoon, will you not?”

“I don’t know whether I can bear it.”

“You must, for my sake, and for Esther’s. You have been like a son to us.”

“Then why require me to see it? I wish to remember you as you are.”

“It will give us comfort to know that you stand with us. Now, please.”

Mark said, “As you wish,” but it was as hard a promise as he had ever had to make.

That afternoon, under an unforgiving sun, he joined tens of thousands in Nero’s Circus as Peter and Esther were brought in chains from their respective cells. The emperor had left the palace and was prominent in his royal box.

Mark’s heart ached as Peter and Esther stared into each other’s eyes, not allowed to get near each other or talk with each other. They were forced to kneel about ten feet apart, and the chief executioner asked questions. Remarkably, for Mark knew they had not had opportunity to plot together, they answered every inquiry the same, in unison.

“Are you members of the Nazarene sect?”

“We are.”

“Are you guilty of destroying the city of Rome by fire, either by your own hands or by those you hired?”

“We are not.”

“Do you worship the emperor, Caesar Nero, as your god?”

“We do not.”

“Do you acknowledge the gods of Rome and bow to them and sacrifice to them?”

“We do not.”

“Will you renounce your allegiance to Jesus, whom you call the Christ and the Messiah and the Son of God?”

“We will not.”

“Then by the power vested in me by the empire and by Caesar, I sentence you to death.”

Esther was unbound and led a hundred feet to the center of the arena, where she was wrapped with freshly cut animal skins. Mark could only imagine how the bloody things felt and smelled. Vicious wild dogs were let loose from cages at one end of the ring, and Esther was prodded and commanded to run, but she would not.

Peter cried out, “Esther, my beloved! Remember the Lord!”

And as the beasts closed on her, she slowly knelt and raised her hands toward heaven. The crowd stood and roared as the dogs tore at her limbs and at her neck, ripping her to pieces and devouring her flesh.

Peter raised his face toward the sun and wept aloud, and Mark stood in the midst of a frenzied crowd that ignored him as he sobbed.

As Peter’s chains were removed, he appeared pale, as if about to topple. Mark wished he had the power to rescue him, to stop his captors and abscond with him to the sea where the beloved apostle could be delivered to the saints who so revered him.

But to Mark’s horror, and certainly to Peter’s, as he was lifted and guided forward, slaves passed him with a rough-hewn cross that took Mark’s mind back more than three decades. Peter began to resist, to fight and pull away. Mark was surprised. He had expected Peter to maintain his dignity to the end the way his wife had.

But this was not about fear of death. Plainly Peter had resigned himself to that. No, he was violently protesting the manner of his execution. “Anything but that!” he cried out. “I am not worthy to suffer the same end as my precious Savior!”

But the cross was laid out on the ground and he was forced upon it. Still he fought and screamed and raged. As the spikes were driven into his hands and feet, Peter turned to the executioner, his ancient gravelly voice as desperate as Mark had ever heard it.

“If you have an ounce of humanity left in you, sir, do not, do not suspend me in the way my Jesus was put to death! I beg you! I beg you! At least hang me upside down!”

The crowd began to roar, “Let the man die however he wishes!”

The executioner looked to the emperor’s box and lifted his hands, palms up.

Nero called out, “What is it to me if he dies sideways? Just finish him!”

And so the executioner directed the slaves to turn the cross, with Peter pinned to it, upside down and drop the top of it into the hole in the ground first. Peter let out a great groan when it violently settled in.

“My Lord and my God,” he managed, his voice constricted, “into Thy hands I commend my spirit.”

And within seconds, Peter was dead.

J
ust under a year later, the missionary Paul was dragged from his quarters by Roman soldiers and hauled along the Via Ostia. Because of his Roman citizenship, the law prohibited torturing him, but he was also so well known to the authorities as a champion of the gospel of the Nazarene that he was not even proffered the courtesy of an interrogation.

Mark watched from the road as the great apostle and apologist for the faith spoke clearly of his belief.

“Silence!” the executioner shouted, but Paul would not be dissuaded.

“What is your plan if I continue to testify, sir?” Paul said, almost as if amused. “Do I risk death?”

“A quicker death,” the man growled, handing the great blade to a muscled, black-hooded man.

Paul’s head was also covered, but he continued to speak, only louder. “I declare the gospel I preached, which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.”

Even as Paul’s head was forced down onto the chopping block, he said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. The just shall live by faith.”

M
ARK HAD SEEN
more than enough violence and bloodshed for one lifetime, and yet in the sobriety that permeated him after the losses of so many dear friends, he found one truth ironic: Christianity had been little more than a small sect, a nuisance to Rome, before Nero blamed the inferno on believers. His garish displays of brutal torture and execution were so extreme that he engendered pity for and then sympathy with the martyrs even on the part of the Roman citizens.

That people were devout enough to be willing to die rather than to renounce their faith in Christ made people all over the world take notice and want to know more about their beliefs.

Nero was soon deposed, and he committed suicide to avoid execution, but a pattern of persecuting Christians had begun.

M
ARK EVENTUALLY WAS
led by the Holy Spirit to leave Rome and believed God had called him to plant churches more than twelve hundred miles away in the great Egyptian city of Alexandria, which lay northwest of the Nile Delta and along a narrow strip between the Mediterranean Sea and Lake Mareotis.

By the time he reached Alexandria, he had traveled by horse, wagon, ship, and camel, and on foot, and had ministered everywhere he went. Church bodies had sprung up and people had come to faith in Christ. Finally reaching the city gates of Alexandria, Mark realized he had broken a strap on one of his sandals. A curious child directed him to a cobbler whose shop was set up in a large tent off the city square. The ruddy man wore a leather apron, and sweat poured from him.

“It appears you’ve gotten more than your money’s worth out of these,” the cobbler said, introducing himself as Atef, a family man. It made Mark smile to hear him mention his loved ones reminding Mark of his own family. He told Mark, “You would be better off to invest in new ones, rather than pay me to fix these.”

“Unfortunately,” Mark said, “I am currently without means. I have only enough to pay you to perhaps reattach this strap.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I am, but I will make you a solemn promise. Because you showed concern for my expense, when I have settled and have my affairs in order, I will return and buy sandals from you.”

“I sell only used and remade ones, sir, but if that is your wish, I will accommodate you.”

“Do you mind if I watch while you work?”

“Not at all! Was it your hope I would repair this right now?”

“Oh, pardon me. I am sure you have other work ahead of it. I am willing to wait.”

“No! I can do it!”

The good-natured Atef grabbed an awl from his rack and pulled a small piece of metal from a bin. “If I pierced it right there and fastened it with this, how would that be?”

“I wouldn’t begin to tell you your trade, sir, but I envision it being more than adequate.”

Atef lay the strap over his wood workbench, placed the point of the awl carefully over the leather, and smacked it three times. He held the strap up to the sunlight and asked Mark to move close. “See the light peeking through?” he said. “You don’t want it too big before the brad is forced through. Let the metal stretch the leather, and it will hold longer.”

“”You should be a teacher, Atef.”

“Ach!” Atef pressed the metal close to the tiny hole and attempted to push it through. “Sometimes I make the hole too small.”

He sat and pressed his elbows close to his body, steadying the leather while pressing hard on the metal with his thumbs. Still it would not budge. Atef grabbed the awl and held the top to one end of the brad, slowly increasing the pressure. Mark saw the veins in his neck and forehead stand out, and he watched with interest to see how much force it would take to press the metal through.

But suddenly the awl slipped and the point tore all the way through the web of skin between the man’s thumb and index finger. He leapt from his chair as blood spattered everywhere, holding the wound with his good hand and hopping about, swearing by every Egyptian god Mark had ever heard of.

“Oh, my!” Mark said. “Atef! Let me see it!”

“No! It has torn all the way through! Oh, my business will be ruined!”

“Please, sit down and let me see.”

“Go get me some help!”

“I will, but you must show me first.”

Grimacing, his eyes pressed shut, Atef finally sat and Mark knelt next to him. He gently put his hands over Atef’s and urged him to release his fingers so he could assess the wound. It was worse than Mark feared. The tool had not just pierced him, but it had also ripped the skin apart. Blood poured onto the ground.

“Now please, sir, get me some help!”

“Be still,” Mark said quietly, surprised himself by the calm in his tone. He held the man’s wounded hand in his own, then spat in the dirt next to where the blood was pooling. He reached with his free hand and mixed the spittle and blood and dirt to make a paste.

Atef stiffened and tried to pull away when Mark brought the cool mixture up. Mark held the man’s wrist tight and pressed the clay directly into the wound, saying, “In the name of Jesus Christ who lives eternally, be whole.”

Mark let go and leaned back, and Atef leapt to his feet, staring at his hand and turning it this way and that in the sunlight. There was no wound, not even the hint of a scar.

“Who are you?” he demanded. “And who is this Jesus Christ you speak of?”

“If you will introduce me to your family, I will tell you all about Him, from the first time I met Him until today.”

“I will do better than that, sir! You shall have the best sandals I have available, free! And you shall have dinner with me and my family this very night.”

Atef and his entire household listened raptly to the story of Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, and return to heaven, and then to the story of the spread of the gospel. They all became believers and helped Mark start a church in Alexandria that soon grew so large it attracted the attention, and the ire, of local pagan leaders who specialized in idol worship.

The church of Christ grew so large that its worship services conflicted with a festival honoring the pagan god Serapis. The local leaders led a mob into the sanctuary and seized Mark, binding him with ropes and dragging him through the streets. His captors exulted, “We’re taking the ox to the stall!”

Mark was thrown into prison with deep lacerations all over his body from the stones over which he had been pulled. That night an angel appeared to him and told him that he would soon “rejoice on with the powers on high.”

The next morning he had a rope thrown around his neck and was again dragged through the streets. When finally the rope cut off his breath, Mark surrendered to death. But the pagan leaders were not satisfied. They built a bonfire to consume his body.

Before they could incinerate him, however, lightning flashed, thunder rolled, and the earth shook as God sent a hailstorm to snuff out the flames. As his tormentors scattered, Atef led a group of Christians who gathered up his remains and ensured he would be properly buried and his bones preserved.

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
²
As it is written in the Prophets:
^a

“Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,

Who will prepare Your way before You.”
^b

³
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the L
ORD
;

Make His paths straight.’”
^a

⁴
John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
⁵
Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

⁶
Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
⁷
And he preached, saying, “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.
⁸
I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

John Baptizes Jesus

⁹
It came to pass in those days
that
Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
¹⁰
And immediately, coming up from
^a
the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.
¹¹
Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Satan Tempts Jesus

¹²
Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.
¹³
And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.

Jesus Begins His Galilean Ministry

¹⁴
Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom
^a
of God,
¹⁵
and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Four Fishermen Called as Disciples

¹⁶
And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
¹⁷
Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
¹⁸
They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

¹⁹
When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the
son
of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also
were
in the boat mending their nets.
²⁰
And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.

Jesus Casts Out an Unclean Spirit

²¹
Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.
²²
And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

²³
Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out,
²⁴
saying, “Let
us
alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”

²⁵
But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!”
²⁶
And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.
²⁷
Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? What new doctrine
is
this? For with authority
^a
He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”
²⁸
And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.

Peter’s Mother-in-Law Healed

²⁹
Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
³⁰
But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.
³¹
So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.

Many Healed After Sabbath Sunset

³²
At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.
³³
And the whole city was gathered together at the door.
³⁴
Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.

Preaching in Galilee

³⁵
Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.
³⁶
And Simon and those
who were
with Him searched for Him.
³⁷
When they found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.”

³⁸
But He said to them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.”

³⁹
And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

⁴⁰
Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

⁴¹
Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out
His
hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”
⁴²
As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.
⁴³
And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once,
⁴⁴
and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

⁴⁵
However, he went out and began to proclaim
it
freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralytic

2
And again He entered Capernaum after
some
days, and it was heard that He was in the house.
²
Immediately
^a
many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive
them,
not even near the door. And He preached the word to them.
³
Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four
men.
⁴
And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.

⁵
When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

⁶
And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts,
⁷
“Why does this
Man
speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

⁸
But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?
⁹
Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘
Your
sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’?
¹⁰
But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic,
¹¹
“I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”
¹²
Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw
anything
like this!”

Matthew the Tax Collector

¹³
Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them.
¹⁴
As He passed by, He saw Levi the
son
of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.

¹⁵
Now it happened, as He was dining in
Levi’s
house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him.
¹⁶
And when the scribes and
^a
Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How
is it
that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹⁷
When Jesus heard
it,
He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call
the
righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
^a

Jesus Is Questioned About Fasting

¹⁸
The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”

¹⁹
And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.
²⁰
But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.
²¹
No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse.
²²
And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.”

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

²³
Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain.
²⁴
And the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”

²⁵
But He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him:
²⁶
how he went into the house of God
in the days
of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?”

²⁷
And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.
²⁸
Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

Healing on the Sabbath

3
And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand.
²
So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.
³
And He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Step forward.”
⁴
Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent.
⁵
And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched
it
out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.
^a
6
Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.

A Great Multitude Follows Jesus

⁷
But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea
⁸
and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him.
⁹
So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him.
¹⁰
For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him.
¹¹
And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, “You are the Son of God.”
¹²
But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.

The Twelve Apostles

¹³
And He went up on the mountain and called to
Him
those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him.
¹⁴
Then He appointed twelve,
^a
that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach,
¹⁵
and to have power to heal sicknesses and
^a
to cast out demons:
¹⁶
Simon,
^a
to whom He gave the name Peter;
¹⁷
James the
son
of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”;
¹⁸
Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the
son
of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite;
¹⁹
and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house.